


one of a kind

by starkly



Series: you don't have to do this alone [6]
Category: Avengers Academy (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Unicorns, Virginity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 16:05:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13368255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: “Do you think the unicorn is weird?” Pepper asks Rhodey, sitting next to him on a bench in the quad. Across the way, Tony is showing off his new kingly garb to the armor-clad unicorn, who’s mostly ignoring him and focusing on grazing instead.





	one of a kind

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for NaNoWriMo 2017 and posted at [dailyironfamily](http://dailyironfamily.tumblr.com/post/167222552620/day-06-school-au) on tumblr. This fic was proofread before being posted here but is otherwise unchanged.
> 
> Day six: school AU. And I took the easy way out by writing an Avengers Academy fic. Pepper/Tony/Rhodey established, featuring that unicorn Tony has. [You know the one](http://avengers-academy.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Man%27s_Unicorn).

Pepper has never dated two people at once before. She’s barely dated one person before, truthfully, so she’s hardly an expert. But she’s willing to put in the work and see where it goes, and so are Tony and Rhodey. There’s just one little question that’s been bothering her for some time now.

“Do you think the unicorn is weird?” she asks Rhodey, sitting next to him on a bench in the quad. Across the way, Tony is showing off his new kingly garb to the armor-clad unicorn, who’s mostly ignoring him and focusing on grazing instead.

Rhodey frowns at her. “What do you have against unicorns?”

“Nothing! They’re great. But…”

Rhodey glances at her as she trails off, elbowing her gently. “But what?”

“You know unicorns, right? How they…are,” she fumbles, trying to explain without actually explaining.

“They’re…magical?” Rhodey tries, clearly not catching her meaning.

“Remember when Thor wanted to pet it and it kicked him? And whenever we try to get close it walks away?”

“So it’s an asshole? My family’s dog was like that.”

Pepper groans. “How did Tony get that unicorn, Rhodey?”

He shrugs. “I think it just befriended him. Tony’s really…” He trails off, looking at the pair across the quad. “Oh.  _Oh_.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“You think Tony’s a virgin?” Rhodey asks skeptically, and Pepper shushes him, glancing around to make sure nobody’s eavesdropping. Especially not any suspicious giant cardboard boxes.

“I mean, that’s how unicorns work, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know, Pepper, I’m not a unicorn expert!”

They both fall silent, reevaluating everything they know.

“That would explain why he never wants to do anything more than kiss,” Pepper says slowly, making a mental checklist of situations she’s just now realizing she may have unintentionally made Tony uncomfortable. Oh no.

“I just thought he was taking things slow,” Rhodey admits. “He said he was serious about this and everything.”

The reminder of that conversation makes Pepper smile slightly. It really was nice  _not_  hearing an “or not” after a “let’s get serious” for once.

“Why would he act like he’s such a playboy if he’s not, though?” Rhodey says after a moment, looking a little sad. “Do you think he’s trying to impress us or something?”

Pepper sighs, folding her hands in her lap. “You know how he is. He just wants everyone to like him.”

On the other side of the quad, Enchantress shows up out of nowhere, saying something to Tony they can’t hear. Pepper swears she can see the unicorn give Amora a disdainful look before it trots away.

“What should we do?” Rhodey asks, getting up to go step in between Tony and Amora if she tries anything funny.

Pepper stands too, ready to follow. “Make sure he knows we’re not pressuring him, I suppose.”

 _That’s_  certainly going to be a fun conversation.

* * *

The opportunity comes sooner than she expects. Tony invites them to date night at the hot tub and gets three platters worth of different kinds of cheeses, and Pepper panics because she didn’t get a chance to plan this out at all. Which is why she starts the conversation the worst possible way:

“Tony, I think we need to talk.”

Tony freezes, hands full of cheese, and stares at her with wide, panicked eyes. “Oh God, three cheese platters was too much, wasn’t it? You’re dumping me over the cheese.”

“No! Tony, no,” she says hurriedly, while Rhodey glares at her and takes the plate from Tony before he drops it into the hot tub. “I’m sorry, I worded that poorly.”

“You’re…not trying to break up?” Tony says carefully, giving her a cautious look.

“Not at all. Just…” She glances at Rhodey, takes a deep breath, and barrels on. “Rhodey and I were talking. About, uh, your unicorn.”

“What about her?” Tony asks, looking oblivious.

“About the…implications. Of said unicorn.” She looks over at Rhodey pleadingly, but he just shakes his head and motions for her to continue. Traitor. “We wanted to ask…are you a virgin?”

Tony stares at her. And keeps staring at her. The silence is incredibly awkward. Then―

Tony starts laughing, very loud and very fake. Pepper would have preferred the awkward silence. “What? Why would you say that! I’ve been with loads of people.”

“Tony,” Rhodey says at last, setting down the platter and taking a step closer to him. “You don’t have to lie. We’re best friends. More than that. You don’t have to pretend about anything to make us like you.”

Tony stops laughing and steps back. “I’m not lying about anything.” His voice wavers at the end, and Pepper frowns, wanting to reach for his hand but unsure if it’d be welcome.

“Unicorns do have a certain, ah, mythology about them,” she explains instead, patient. “And we just wanted you to know that if you ever felt pressured by us, we didn’t mean to, and we’re sorry.”

Tony’s silent, just staring at them. Then he bursts out laughing again, but this time it sounds genuine, and Pepper nearly jumps, startled.

“You guys  _never_  pressure me, are you kidding me!” Tony tries to tell them as he catches his breath, only to start laughing again. “You’re both perfectly polite dates.”

Pepper has no idea why this is so funny, but she’s relieved at least. And slightly embarrassed. “Oh. So. I guess we don’t have anything to talk about, then.”

“Not unless you want to?” Rhodey asks.

Tony sighs, sitting down on the edge of the hot tub. Pepper and Rhodey join him, one on either side.

“I’m sorry I didn’t just tell you. I thought, I’ve been pretending to be so suave this whole time, I’d look like an idiot if I admitted I had no idea what I was doing.”

“We don’t think you’re an idiot,” Pepper assures him at the same time that Rhodey says,

“Let’s be real, we never really thought you were that suave.”

Pepper sighs, but at least Tony laughs. He reaches for Pepper’s hand with his left and Rhodey’s with his right, giving them both a squeeze.

“All right, no pretending with you guys anymore,” he says, sounding much more relaxed. “So can we get in the hot tub now?”

“Way ahead of you,” Rhodey says, sliding off the ledge and into the water. He pulls Tony in along with him, who tugs Pepper in too, all three of them still holding hands.

Pepper knows they’ll have to talk more about this at some point, but for now she’s content to lazily float around in a giant hot tub, balancing a plate of cheese on her stomach, with her two favorite people in the world.


End file.
